Hibs instant analysis as St Mirren deal Montgomery late sickener

The lesser-seen Josh Campbell fired Nick Montgomery's side into a deserved early lead, only for Mark O'Hara to equalise from the penalty spot after VAR intervened to punish Jordan Obita. Joe Newell then smashed home from a brilliantly-worked Hibs move involving Elie Youan and Dylan Vente, and maximum points looked set to return to Leith until substitute Lewis Jamieson fired home a leveller in the 92nd minute.

It was yet more disappointment in the closing stages stages for Montgomery and his player, who just over a week ago surrendered a 2-0 lead to Ross County before losing late on to 10-man Aberdeen in Saturday's Viaplay Cup semi-final.

Patrick McPartlin and Liam Bryce were at the SMISA Stadium to provide the instant analysis, on a night when Hibs' winless run stretched to seven games.

Deja-vu for Hibs

Stop me if you've heard this one before. Another week, another bitter pill to swallow for Hibs. This was a largely decent performance against a very decent side, one that does not give too much away on this venue, but there are only so many times the same hard-luck story can be repeated before it starts to become something else. Hibs simply need to manage games better, they keep putting themselves in good positions, and yet somehow are just not able to see it over the line. On this occasion, Youan simply cannot give the ball away when he does, turning a Hibs counter-attack into the move that ends in St Mirren's equaliser. It is a concern, no doubt about it. Montgomery has said he is working every day to change the mentality around his team, but has stressed that it will take time to do so. There are enough in a lot of these performances to suggest Hibs can become a very effective - and exciting team - but until they start putting points on the board, it ultimately matters little. That's now three games in just over a week where they have either lost or dropped points from a position of strength. It's obvious, given the scenes at full-time, that it is hurting the players, but it's up to them to start coming down on the right side of these fine margins.

Liam Bryce

Campbell takes his chance

The fun aspect of trying to accurately predict a Nick Montgomery Hibs team is that there’s nearly always a curveball. Jair Tavares making his first start in over a year. Jojo Wollacott making his league debut in a Tuesday night draw with Ross County. And Josh Campbell, little more than a bit-part player under the new manager so far, handed a first start and responding with a goal after 12 minutes.

And it could have been two, had Zach Hemming not clawed the ball away from him as he attempted to round the ‘keeper after Alex Gogic was short with a back pass. Given Campbell’s fitness levels and versatility, and how often he played under Lee Johnson, it was something of a surprise that he appeared virtually out of the reckoning following Montgomery’s arrival. True, there didn’t seem to be an obvious position for him to fill in the 442 set-up that Montgomery favours but with the formation tweaked to be more of a 4411 the 23-year-old was a perfect fit for the second striker role. His boundless energy also took some of the pressure off Dylan Vente in terms of pressing. All in all, it was a smart call by Montgomery - and Campbell answered it superbly.

Patrick McPartlin

VAR takes centre stage... again

Honestly, we'd rather not have to mention VAR at all on these pages but it seems to be following Hibs around like a bad smell at the moment. First things first, it's not great from Jordan Obita, who lets Richard Taylor get a run on him, seems to panic a tad and then grabs hold of the St Mirren defender's shirt. The contact is minimal, but with VAR on the prowl, it's always a massive risk to lay hands on an opponent in the box. The issue Hibs may point to is one of consistency - these incidents in the penalty area are frequent, and VAR does not always opt to intervene when they happen. Rangers were awarded a penalty for similar against Hearts, and yet one in the Ross County vs Celtic game at the weekend went unpunished.

Liam Bryce

Whittaker mature beyond his years

There haven’t been too many 16-year-olds called upon to start must-win matches in the Scottish Premiership in recent seasons - and certainly not at right-back - but then Rory Whittaker isn’t most 16-year-olds. It says a lot for his rapid rise that his selection in the starting line-up was possibly less of a surprise than that of Josh Campbell’s, and trusting him at right-back showed the manager’s faith in the player. On his display in Paisley, it wouldn’t be a surprise to see him get more starts and until Chris Cadden is back fit and available, it gives Lewis Miller some much-needed competition for that full-back berth, which can only be a good thing. As with Josh Landers, who came off the bench again late on, Whittaker doesn't play like an inexperienced youngster - he displays a maturity beyond his years in terms of his use of the ball and his game intelligence, and it's strikingly clear what Montgomery saw in him in that under-18 match shortly after his arrival. He's already an exciting prospect and if he can maintain his upward trajectory, Hibs will have a hugely exciting player on their hands.